Life as We Knew It
by SaltyBubblegum
Summary: An asteroid is set to hit the moon on one hot, May night. What happens when it causes the world to change drastically? Especially for the Russo kids without their powers.
1. Asteroid

**So this is my new series. It's based off the incredible book trilogy "Life as We Knew It". I'm seriously not trying (and especially don't know how) to copy the book. I'm just twisting it to WOWP style. Yeah...**

**This is basically just the beginning or the prologue I guess you could say. Yeah.**

**Sorry for any grammatical errors; I did this at 3:00 in the morning. Enjoy! ; )**

* * *

**Wednesday, May 18**

The night my life changed drastically forever, I was stealing a cherry from a customer's shirley temple. Some people say it's so hard, when all I had to do was tap on the customer's shoulder and quickly pick that cherry out of their drink from the opposite end. I walked toward the counter and giggled to myself.

I thought, _Easy as pie. Let's make it _cherry _pie!_ I snickered at my own pun. I sat down on a bar stool and picked off the fruit from the stem, enjoying the sweet taste.

I looked out of one of the windows leading out to Waverly Place. A group of friends were blowing kazoos and were shaking those loud noise makers. A girl in the group was carrying a flask which I'm guessing wasn't hot cocoa. The group skipped, arm in arm, across to the other side of the street laughing.

I sighed thinking about how I was having to stay in the whole night with my two, dorky brothers while our parents are taking a trip to the Statue of Liberty to watch the big event. According to NASA and other big science industries, there was supposed to be an asteroid crashing into the moon that night. Earlier, I had gotten bored after the first 45 seconds of watching it on T.V. and changed it to _Friends_. People were celebrating the memorable occasion everywhere else besides the subshop, so it shouldn't of been that big of a job to handle.

"Alex," I heard a familiar voice call out.

I turned around and noticed my parents standing across the counter from where I was. "Yeah?"

"Justin's in the kitchen and Max's cleaning up the tables," Theresa started.

I rolled my eyes at the obvious statement.

She continued, "Your father and I are only going out for a few hours, so it shouldn't be that much trouble to handle. Besides, it's a slow day today. Do you think you can handle yourself?"

I dramatically got up from the stool and said, "Yes, Mom. And I won't cause any trouble to my brothers or any other living being as long as you guys are out." I could basically recite the damn thing; I'd done it enough times.

My mother grimaced. "I'm just worried about tonight. I'm thinking there'll be a lot of drinking and chaos going on around here, and I just want you to be safe, Mija."

I was about to reply just as Justin walked out of the kitchen. He had been listening in on the conversation and stated, "I doubt anything will happen. You know, NASA's not always right. Besides, even if an asteroid does hit the moon, it'll probably just create another non-noticeable crater."

I plucked the stem into my mouth and began to try to knot it. I stated, "Well, if it's just like one of those other lame eclipses that you can never see because of the dang clouds, I'm not gonna stick around waiting for something to _not _happen."

My mom shook her head. "Well, you kids will be alright, right? I promise, we'll only be gone a few hours," she repeated again.

I sighed. "We'll be fine, Mom! You and Dad enjoy whatever you guys are going to do in a big green statue." I continued to work my tongue with the stem.

Dad cut in, "Justin, keep them occupied please. Don't let Alex leave the house or Max... Just keep an eye on them, alright?"

Justin crossed his arms. "Dad, we'll be fine. You and Mom have fun."

They agreed and walked out of the shop.

I turned towards Justin with a wide smile plastered on my face. "Hey, Justin. I have an early birthday present for you."

He smirked and said, "Yeah, right. You didn't buy me a new dog did you?" He contemplated for a moment and asked, "I still miss Dragon. It still haunts me how he mysteriously ran away." He looked up to a certain spot in the ceiling with a thoughtful expression.

I looked up also but noticed nothing. I looked at him again and said, "No, nothing that breathes fire." I grabbed his hands and placed them out in front of him. "Here, close your eyes for a sec."

He looked at me strangely before giving in. He closed his eyes, and I spat out my tied cherry stem.

He winked one eye open and looked down at his hands. His expression was horrifyed as he pulled his hands away quickly and stated, "Alex! That's disgusting!"

I smiled deviously and skipped into the kitchen to chug some sugar.

* * *

It's 9:30, and all that's on T.V. are special newscasts on the asteroid that may or may not hit the moon tonight. Even in my desperate time of trying to find something entertaining to watch besides old dudes talking scientifically like Justin does in his sleep, I turn it on to Disney Channel. What was playing was 'Wish Upon a Shooting Star' marathon.

Harper was at a clogging convention in New Jersey with Zeke again, so she wouldn't be home until later the next day.

I sighed and turned off the T.V. all together. If I listened close enough, I could hear shouting and laughing outside on the terrace where Max and Justin were. They gasped, and I could practically hear Justin scribbling down notes into his composition book. I decided to go see what all the excitement was and got up to head to the terrace.

I grabbed a blanket from the couch and walked outside to the terrace and looked up at the sky to see the moon in its orignial shape and form. I rolled my eyes and said, "Justin, Max, you guys are seriously wasting your time watching absolutely _nothing_ happen."

Justin planted his eye into his telescope and scribbled some more into his book. He looked up at me and stated matter-of-factly, "Actually, Alex, based on my prediction and the weather lady from channel nine's forecast, there _will_ be an astroid heading into the path of the moon in precisely -" He glanced at his watch. "- One minute."

I sat down in a picnic chair next to Max and wrapped myself up in the blanket I had brought and stared at my surroundings. At every other balcony or terrace surrounding Waverly Place, every single family was out htere watching the sky, waiting indefintely for a so-called asteroid to hit the moon. Some people were standing on the roof just to see this thing, where some were burning a few burgers and hotdogs while the sky stood still. I rolled my eyes at the ignorance at all these people but still watched the sky in case some type of miracle happened. It was as if there was some type of mutual silence that had spread all over.

Justin suddenly gasped and said, "Alex, Max! Look!" He points towards the right as if we couldn't already see it. He pressed his eye again to his telescope and stared intently out of it. Flying fast across the stars was one of the biggest things we've seen in the sky besides the obvious moon and sun. It looked as if there were flames blazing onto the back of it.

For a quick second, I thought of all the famous astrologists who had thought that all of the stars in the sky were the most amazing and spectacular thing there was to be discovered. But this was totally unbelieveable. The way it shot across the sky was so much more exciting than noticing the sign Cancer plastered into the stars.

It was as if every breathe had been sucked in when it hit. It was sad, because it was _our_ moon. It's something you don't notice every night, but you know it's there. It's comforting and safe. When you see it get attacked, you begin to feel violated as if it had just smacked you.

I was brought of my state of mind when everyone around started to cheer and clap. They were all looking up at the sky to capture the moment. But all of the sudden, I heard a scream. It made all of the hairs on my arm stand up. A few more shrieks followed. Justin backed away from his telescope and looked up at the stars with a scared expression. I frowned and also looked up. My stomach sunk to the ground as I noticed the moon was gradually expanding in size. Maybe it wasn't expanding, but it was definitely coming _closer_. Without a telescope, you could see the rough craters sunken in deep. It was way too big and way too visible than it should've been.

All of the reporters that had been broadcasting had definitely not predicted this. Even if they had, they would have definitely not _believed_ it would happen. My mind escaped to tomorrow's news as they would tell the story of how the moon had increased in size as if it had been a trick played in Bruce Almighty.

It wasn't as if someone had flicked a pencil to make it spin around in circles. You definitely couldn't hear the defeating and inevitable crash of the asteroid hitting the moon. It was as if someone had poked it towards Earth. A _lot_ closer to Earth.

Justin grimaced and mumbled out loud, "I did _not _predict this! This is _not _good! This is definitely not good _at all_!"

Max asked hesitantly, "Is it gonna crash into Earth?"

I gasped as the realization washed over me. I grabbed my stomach and winced.

Justin ran his fingers through his hair and stated firmly, "No. It can't. Logic can't be this predictable to create such a massive inevitable, phenomenon you're inferring. It wouldn't plague upon this crucial an utter disaster we would have to contemplate with." He then began to mumble random variables and numbers while pacing back and forth.

I frowned. "What are you talking about, Justin?" I tried to be sensible. "This is totally just a joke, right? Nothing serious is going to happen." I tried to sink this theory into my brain.

Justin turned his head and glared at me. "You think this is a joke? Alex, if it was a joke, every major science industry _universal_ would have to be sick and delusional. This is not a joke." He thought and added, "This couldn't even be _played_ as a joke. Impossible."

I frowned again. Suddenly I thought, "Should we call mom and dad? Do you think they're alright?"

He just continued to pace and look up at the ginormous white piece of space. Totally ignoring my question.

"Justin, answer me!" I yelled. "Are we going to okay?"

He looked towards me and stated ominously, "I don't know."

I stared wide-eyes at him. "What do you mean you 'don't know'? Aren't you supposed to know this stuff?"

He glared again. "Alex, I've just graduated from high school. An eighteen-year-old can't predict everything even if they want to."

I rolled my eyes. "You have to know at least _something_, right?"

He suddenly looked away for a moment. Without warning, he raced back inside.

Max and I traded glances and got up to run after him.

Once we had run up the stairs after him to his room, we noticed him with his wand in his hand in a ready position.

"What are you doing?" I heaved. For a nerd, he could surely run fast.

He didn't answer but mumbled quietly under his breathe. He flicked his wand, and a dim light glowed from the tip. Instead of creating a spell, it just shrunk back down into the wand. Justin cursed and threw his wand onto the bed.

I asked quietly in confusion, "What just happened?"

Justin started to pace back and forth again across the floor. He occasionally ran his fingers through his dark hair as we waited for an answer.

I tapped my foot a few times becoming annyoed. "Justin! Answer me? What spell did you use, and why didn't it work?"

He stopped pacing, his hand in mid-air. He sighed and confessed, "I don't have my powers. I'm guessing you guys don't either."

My mouth dropped to the floor. I glared. "You're lying. Is this some type of sick joke? Of course we have our powers!"

His face became sympathetic. "Alex -" But before he could say more, I ran out of the room towards mine and grabbed my wand from the dresser.

I gripped it tightly and muttered a quick spell. Just like a few moments ago with Justin's, a dim likght glowed from the tip. My hopes began to rise until the light vansihed all together. My mind just about blanked as I tried another spell and another and another with the light dissapearing suddenly. I took a deep breathe and walked back into Justin's room where he was explaining something to Max on the bed.

I placed my hands on my hips and stated, "So why aren't our powers working?"

He looked up, and I could tell he was becoming stressed. He sighed and stated, "With the moon diversed and forced into another moving object's force -"

I held up my hand. "Justin, speak English, please."

He growled and started again, "Because the moon has been pushed farther into the Earth's magnetic field, our powers are totally reversed, meaning that... well, we don't and won't have any powers until this disruption gets resolved."

"Are you sure? It's not just temporary, or the dragon's haven't just been let out again?"

Justin sighed for the millionth time again. "They might've been let out, but it wouldn't change the fact that the moon has moved an increasingly amount of size towards Earth which is the main reason why our powers are out."

I sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "So what are we going to do?

"Wait for mom and dad to get home I guess. They'd know what do."

Little did we know, our parents would never come home.

* * *

**Did it suck? Majorly?**

**If it did, sorry.**

**If you liked it, I've been wanting to make this into a story for awhile and just decided to give it a hit. I don't know how often I'll update, so don't excpect much.**

**Please review! ; )**


	2. Stocking Up

**So I just looked over the first chapter, and I was so ashamed with how many **_**errors **_**there were! I'm so sorry! I wrote it from midnight to 3:00 a.m. and looked it over around 3:30 am. I first was going to make it in third person but thought I could explain more in first, so I changed it all around really fast and left a few subjects kept in there. I'm so sorry again. I'm writing this one at 12:43 **_**pm**_**, so I should be a little more sane. ;)**

**Again, sorry for any errors! Enjoy!**

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**May 19**

"Alex," someone whispered to me.

I was alseep, so of course I wasn't going to answer.

That same person shook my shoulder and whispered my name more urgently.

I groaned and turned to my side. What is it? Like 8:00 a.m.? No living person should be forced to be woken up at this early in the morning.

"Alex, wake up!" the person yelled.

I gathered the strength to open my mouth and mumble, "Go away!"

The person sighed and cried, "Why do you make this so difficult?"

I turned over and winked one eye open. Justin was waiting impatiently. "What do you want?"

He sighed and stated, "Mom and dad never came home last night." He sat down at the edge of my bed.

All of last night's events came back to me. The moon, our powers, mom and dad. I pushed myself up a bit and smoothed my hair. "Did they call? Did they send an E-mail? Did they do anything?" I asked.

He rubbed his eyes. "No. I don't know where they are. I tried to call them, but no one answered." He thought for a moment. It looked like he'd been thinking about it for awhile. "But we need to get food. A lot of it."

I crossed my arms. "I'm not hungry."

He breathed in slowly. "No. We need to go to the store and stock up on it. I have money; a few hundred plus mom's coupons. It won't be enough, but it's the best we can do. Max is already down stairs waiting."

I held up my hand and asked, "What are you talking about? We own a _sub shop_. We have plenty of food."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "That won't be sufficient. Now, can you please not ask a lot of questions right now? We'll go out to get some breakfast an go grocery shopping."

"What about mom and dad? Don't you think they need some say in this?" I asked.

"Just get dressed. We're leaving in five minutes," he said edgily. He got up from the bed and left the room.

I glared my eyes. He is _so _not going to boss me around like that. Sure, I got ready, but that's all he was going to order me to do.

I walked down stairs to see Max (just like Justin said) waiting by the door. He was carrying butter and syrup in his hands.

Right behind me, Justin had walked down the stairs. He was carrying a white envelope in his hand and car keys in another.

I pointed to the envelope. "What's that?"

"Money," he stated.

"How much?" He was probably getting irritated with the questions. I didn't care.

"Enough." He walked to the door by Max. "Now, come on."

* * *

We had left the sub shop closed for the day and had driven over to Nuthin' but Flapjacks. Since this was me and my dad's Father-Daughter place, I didn't feel comfortable eating here without him.

Justin had made me order some pancakes, but I wasn't eating them.

"Alex, you need to eat," he had stated. He had said that over five times now. And I had the same response.

"I'm not hungry."

Max had devoured his in a matter of minutes and was staring at mine hungrily.

I scrunched my nose and pushed my plate over to him. "Max, here; you seem hungry enough."

Max grabbed his knife and fork, but Justin had grabbed it from him and placed it back in front of me.

I rolled my eyes annoyed. "You can't force me, Justin. I'm not going to eat it."

Looking at his plate, he seemed to not be hungry either but had still eaten most of it. "Fine, we'll take it home then and save it. You'll probably want it in a few days."

I looked outside through the window and noticed it had started to rain.

Just then, the waiter came over. She looked at Justin with her lips perked flirtily. "Can I get you anything else?"

I rolled my eyes.

He answered solemnly, "Nothing else. Just the check."

She placed her hand on the side of the table where I was sitting. She looked at him and asked, "Did you see the moon last night? Or I should still say as of today. It's humongous!"

She was right, the moon was still the biggest thing in the sky right now.

Justin said, "Yeah. It was crazy. Can I have the check please?" He was not in the mood.

The waitress smiled. She flipped her blonde hair and asked again, "Are you sure you don't want anything? Some more water? We have a hidden supply of syrup in the back if you need it." She winked. "I'd get it just for you."

His jaw clenched.

"Excuse me, -" I looked at her name card. "Rhonda? Is that it?"

She turned her glance painfully away from my brother to me. "Yes, do you need something?"

I smiled sarcastically. "Yes, could we have the check please? Maybe you could do your job instead of drooling over my older brother."

She smiled nervously and looked back between the two of us. "I wasn't flirting with him. I was just trying to do my job."

I kept the smile stuck on my face. "Well, why don't you try harder and go get us our check," I suggested.

She turned around and walked away. I could subtly hear her mumble, _bitch_ as she left through the crowded and noist restaurant.

"You're welcome," I stated.

He looked up from across the table at me. "Thank you."

A few more mintues passed until Rhonda came back with the check without saying a word. We paid it and left to go grocery shopping.

* * *

We got out of the car and started walking towards the front of the store. The rain had come down a little harder.

I shook my head and stated to Justin, "Why do we need to do this? We have a _sub shop_ for crying out loud!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alex, please don't. Can you just do what I'm asking you for once?"

I rolled my eyes. "No! This is stupid! The world is not going to end, and we're not not going to run out of freaking food!" I screamed.

He grabbed my wrist to try and pull me to the side.

I yanked out of his grip. "Justin, let go of me!" There were a few stares.

Max cut in. "Uhh, guys?"

We ignored him. "Why are you making such a big deal?"

He grabbed my shoulders and peered down at me. "Alex, this is a big deal. A _very, _big deal. You have no idea how much can happen in a little amount of time. If you don't believe me, then don't. But can you just do this one thing for me?"

"How big of a deal is it?" I asked.

He closed his eyes for a second and stated, "I don't know if everything I'm thinking is going to happen, but a lot people could get hurt. I don't want to scare you or Max -" He looked at both of us, "-but something _is _going to happen. I'm just trying to take necessary precautions." He let go of shoulders.

I looked away. I finally answered, "Fine. I'll whatever you want me to do. But you better not boss me around, though."

His morale seemed to be lifted. "Thanks. A lot. I'll try not to order you around too much."

I licked my lips. "Wanna shop now?"

He smiled. "Let's go."

We each grabbed two carts and entered the store.

Justin stalled as we walked in and started to say, "Remember, you need to buy necesary items. No sweets at all unless it's fruit. Okay, so maybe a little sweets, but no less than 3 per cart. If we need cookies, get cookies. Also get pretzels; those don't expire that quickly. They might go stale, but it's better than nothing. Buy items that do not expire for awhile. Foods including canned, mixed vegetables, canned fruits, condensed milk. Don't buy any bananas unless you plan to eat them straight away. Oh, and no fresh produce, because they expire in less than a couple of weeks. Also soup!" He continued on. "Get Progresso! They don't need water. Speaking of water..." He thought for a moment. "I should specify this more clearly."

He grabbed the envelope from his back pocket and gave Max three one hundred dollar bills.

My eyes bulged. "Holy crap! Where'd you get that much money?"

Justin gave me the same amount. "Chores."

He looked at Max. "Max, go fill your two carts with as much water as you can and keep on getting more until your money runs out."

I interjected, "Don't get Arrowhead. Arrowhead's gross. Mmm, get Dasani. Or Aquafina!" I stopped due to Justin's glare. I whispered to Max, "Just don't get Arrowhead."

"Alex, get essential health and beauty aids. Icluding -"

"We need make-up if the world's going to end?" Max asked.

"The world's not going to end, and health and beauty aids are vitamins, band-aids, peroxide, asprin... Get my drift?" He added, "Get laxatives, also."

I groaned in disgust. "Really?"

He nodded and took a deep breathe. "You guys got that? I'll get all of the food and some other stuff. If you guys can't decided between two or more items, grab 'em both."

I looked at Max who looked like he would pass out with all of the information passing through his brain.

"We're good. At least, I think so."

"I'll meet you guys back here in about an hour, okay? Good luck." Justin left in one direction and so did Max.

I started walking towards the medicine aisle and began plucking things off the shelves as if there were no tomorrow. Kind of ironic. I grabbed water-proof band-aids, regular band-aids, Dora band-aids; every single vitamin in the alphabeti; peroxide; Tylenol, Aleve, Advil; ice packs; hair ties; toilet paper (lot's of it); tissues; Tampax for me; soap; razors. I even grabbed SlimFast for no apparent reason. The two carts were filled to the top.

After I was done with those, I realized there was forty minutes left. I felt like I had everything but too much time left.

I walked over the front of the store to check out, but I noticed that everyone checking out was going ballistic. I surveyed every cash register and saw that nobody was actually "checking out". They were just throwing random bills to the frightened chashiers. I walked - more _runned_ - and threw a fifty onto the belt just as everyone else was doing.

I ran out of the store into the pouring rain and loaded the items into the car. By the time that was done, I had around a half hour left.

Deciding to not waste my time, I ran over to a random store across the street. I couldn't see which store it was due to the rain, but once I entered, I could tell it was Hallmark. The smell of scented wax coated the air. I walked through the store and just looked around for a bit. There were little key chains with names on it, there were the custom heart-felt cards that were bursting with artificial happiness. There were picture frames and random movies stocked up on one side of the store. I bought a key chain customized with the name "Max" on it and a couple of movies.

A sudden epiphany invaded my mind when I realized that we might need light! Candles and flashlights! Justin hadn't thought about that when he talked to us. So I bought three bag fulls of differently scented candles and a bunch of oil lamps.

I then walked next door to a hardware store. I bought four bags full of different batteries and flashlights. I also bought a radio.

My arms were getting tired, so I unloaded the bags back into the car and walked back into the store where we were supposed to meet at the end of the hour.

"Excuse me! These are my items! Go get your own, jerk-off!" I heard a lady yell.

I looked behind me and saw a man trying to grab an item from the lady's cart. The lady whacked the man with her purse and he treaded away as she walked off triumphantly.

The lady didn't notice she dropped what looked like a Rubik's Cube. I shrugged and bought it for any occasion.

Soon the hour passed and Justin and Max both arrived at the same place.

"Did you guys get it all?" I asked.

They both agreed and we set off to the car.

We finished packing and trying to fit everything and got into the car. Even though the radio had a lot of static and wasn't really cooperating, we could still get one segment in.

"There have been unevitable floods all over the eastern seaboard. As you all know about the breaking news on the moon, some of you may know that the moon controls the tides. It was uncomfirmed to the news that all of Cape Cod was completely covered, but it is and has been confirmed..." Static paused the reports.

"... It seems to be the same with the barrier islands off the Carolina coast. Just completely submerged. As of today, massive tidal waves 20 feets and higher are beginning to flood New York City. All of the power has been out since an hour ago, and until further..." The static filled the radio again.

"...Statue of Liberty has been washed out to sea as many people are taking action against -"

The car screeched to a halt. "What?" we all screamed.

I opened the door and fell onto the ground. I held my head between my knees and began to breathe in deeply. I felt like I was going to throw up.

* * *

**Uhh... Yeah... Don't you just love how optimistic this story's becoming? ;)**

**I absolutely ADORED the reviews! Thank you, guys, so much!**

**Hope this chapter was better than the first. I think so at least.**

**Please review!**


	3. Cut Glass, Cut Lines

**I was playing hooky today, so I decided to write this.**

**Sorry for any errors.**

* * *

**May 20**

Harper hasn't showed up yet. Not that I'd expect much. She's probably staying somewhere with Zeke. Either that or the other plausible reason I'd rather not think about.

The electricity came back around 3 this morning. I wouldn't of noticed if all the banging hadn't woken me up. I had heard a really loud ruckus (as Justin would say) coming from downstairs, so I went to investigate.

I got up from my bed and started to walk down the winding stairs and out to the sub station. I had grabbed the keys on my way down, and as I entered, I noticed somebody was trying to break the glass window with his hand. My first thought was to go up and get my wand until I realized that we had no powers. My second was sleeping upstairs.

I grabbed the keys in my hand and turned on all of the lights.

"Please!" the intruder screamed from outside. "You have to give up some of your food! You have a whole shop that you can plainly share!" He continued to pound on the window with more force.

I crossed my arms and yelled back towards the window, "Get your own damn food! This isn't a charity! It's not Subway!" I then added, "You're never getting in!" It seemed kind of silly yelling through the window, but I was definitely not going outside.

The man chucked what seemed like an egg at the window.

Suddenly, I noticed a few more people crowd behind him. They also began to bang on the window.

A woman yelled, "You can't do this to us! Some of us have families to feed while your stocked up with meats and bread!"

"It's three in the freaking morning! Leave! It's not my problem you can't support your own family!" I realized how harsh that was. I then realized how bad people were off; how scared they were. How eager they were to get a few slices of salami or bologna.

A loud crash echoed from the opposite side of the store. Someone had broken through the glass.

I cried, "Justin! Help!"

It seemed like a stupid thing to do, but I ran toward where the sound was. I grabbed a chair and chucked it at the first person I saw. I missed.

My eyes widened as I noticed there were a lot more people than I guessed. I couldn't handle this on my own.

"Justin!" I screamed again. A few people began to crowd around me.

I screamed as I felt someone grab my waist. I turned around and screamed, "Get _off _me!" until I realized it was Justin.

He pulled me back and stated huskily, "Stay back." He then raced towards the crowd of intruders.

Instead of standing there, I grabbed a few extra chairs and threw them at random people. Once I ran out of chairs, I ran towards the phone in the kitchen.

I grabbed the phone and placed it to my ear. There was a dial tone, and I dialed _911_ and waited.

_"We're sorry; the number you have called is not in service. Please try again later."_

"Argh!" I threw the phone down to the floor in rage. It bounced back up since it had the spiral cord connected to it.

I ran back out to help Justin when I noticed surprisingly he was leaning against a table alone and breathing heavily.

I whispered, "Justin?" I walked closer and grabbed his arm. "Are you okay?" His arm seemed tense, but maybe it was just me.

I raced to the kitchen and ran some water into a cup stored in there. I came back and handed it to him. "Here, drink some water."

He looked up at me and grabbed the water. He stated, "Yeah. Just a little... overwhelmed, that's it. Thanks." He took a sip.

I nervously laughed. "Maybe we should go back to bed. It's still 3 in the morning you know. You're lucky I even got up." Speaking of the word sleep, I automatically yawned.

He relaxed a bit and said, "Yeah. I guess. I have to do something about this window, though. Anybody can come in here now."

I offered, "Want me to help? I mean, I'm already up. It wouldn't hurt to stay up a little longer."

His eyes seemed to glossen a bit. "If you want to. I'm just gonna do it the amateur way and duct tape it until tomorrow. I'm pretty tired myself and wouldn't mind going back to sleep."

I agreed and we taped it up.

The quote "Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver" was stuck in my mind randomly the whole time.

Once we were done, I placed my hands on my hips and apologized, "I'm sorry for making you come down here. I probably just urged them on and made them break the window."

He looked at me with a puzzled expression and said, "What are you talking about, Alex? Don't apologize; if they had enough determination, they would broken it either way without you taunting them or not." He paused and then asked, "And since when are you apologizing?"

I rolled my eyes. "Haven't you noticed I've been doing it more often? Not that I necessarily enjoy it, but... I don't know, it's easier to say you're sorry than to not say it I guess."

He look up at me strangely; like he never had before and just nodded.

I blushed as we started to walk up the stairs back up to the apartment.

I added, "Don't count on me saying it a lot though."

He chuckled. "Believe me, I won't."

We walked up to our rooms and said our awkward goodnights/goodmornings.

I fell onto my bed and stared blankly at my unset, alarm clock illuminating the rest of the room. We were wasting our precious electricty by sleeping.

I layed there listlessly for a half hour until I heard a door being creaked open from down the hall. I waited for a few more minutes until I heard the coffee grinder go off downstairs.

Max doesn't drink coffee, so it had to be Justin.

I then layed on my bed wondering if Justin had been going to sleep at all these last two days.

I didn't fall asleep.

**May 20**

Max was watching the president talk about the same things. The tsunamis and floods. The moon out of its orbit. The untold number of deceased. He talked about the national day of mourning on Monday and that we should pray a lot. He said that we should expect a lot worse coming and that we should prepare the best we could. He stated how every offshore oil refinery was gone and that all of the oil tankers had been lost at sea. I had no idea what that meant. Then the governor came on.

I was staring at the T.V. with him when the phone rang for the first time in two days. I grabbed it off the counter and pressed _talk_.

"Hello?" My voice was frantic.

"Alex?" someone screamed.

Max looked up from the T.V.

I smiled wider than I ever could before. "Harper?"

He looked away.

"Alex, it's you! Oh my gosh, I've been so worried! How are you? How's Justin? How's Max? You're mom and dad?"

Justin walked in the room and noticed I was talking to someone.

"Who is it?" he asked excitedly.

I mouthed Harper.

He nodded and sat down next Max.

I laughed excitedly. "Harper, nothing's good right now, but I'm so much happier that you called! Okay, Justin's fine, Max's good, and... We don't know where mom and dad are. But I'm sure they're fine," I lied. There seemed to be a lump in the back of throat as I said that. I continued, "But how are you? When are you coming back home? Is Zeke alright?"

"Alex, I'm sure they're alright." She paused and then stated, "We're fine! We're at Zeke's house right now. I'm gonna try to come home as soon as possible."

My mouth dropped. "You're _in_ New York? Why haven't you come home? Harper, I -"

The connection cut out.

I tried calling Zeke's number through the address book on the counter, but there was no dial tone.

I don't know why, but that just made me seem like there was no one else in the world to talk to. I began cry.

The lights and T.V. began to flicker and shut off.

**May 21**

The electricty came back on. I tried calling again, but there was still no dial tone.

Max, Justin, and I ate a couple of Meet me Turkey's the whole day. Justin only ate half and gave the rest to Max. I thought it was strange but decided to blow it off.

I'll feel better when Harper comes home.

**May 22**

We were eating a Meet Me in Little Italy when Max asked if we could go to McDonalds or something.

The elctricity has been off, so we've had to finish everything off in the fridge and freezer upstairs and downstairs.

I don't think he gets the concept of the roads being flooded.

I looked at Justin.

He looked at Max with sympathy.

"Max," I started, "The whole state of New York's flooded."

He frowned. "It's not flooded over here."

"Well, it's flooded everywhere else," I stated.

He rolled his eyes. "Right." He looked away and stated, "God, you guys can be so paranoid about everything."

I dropped my mouth.

Justin sighed, "Max-"

"We're trying to _protect_ you, Max!"

He pushed himself off of the table. "Well, maybe I don't want to be protected!" He left the table and slammed the door to his room.

I glared in my sandwhich.

Justin sighed again. "Alex, he's just frusterated. We all are."

"Well, he needs to get _un_frusterated!" I replied snarkily.

* * *

**Yeah... I'm following the first book with this story, but that one takes place in Pennsylvania so the plot's a bit changed, so if you've read them, you know I'm gonna be off.**

**Hope it was okay...**

**Review please!**

****Oh, BTW, I **really** liked the reviews! So thank you!**

**I'm going to give Justin a little more emotion in later chapters, haha. But thanks for the review!**


	4. Guess Who?

**So this chapter has taken a long time for me to write! I'm so, sincerely sorry. I've been caught up in stuff/stupid things. So please forgive me and read this...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**June 12**

A few weeks had past, but no sign of anybody. Since New York was flooded, we'd been cooped up in the house with nothing to do. We probably could've tried to leave the apartment for a few hours, but we didn't take the chance. The electricity's been out since God knows when. I swear I hadn't had the privilege of cool air on me for three weeks. Since it's summer, we've all been sweating constantly. All the food in the fridge had been eaten beforehand, and so it was decided to just store random items that we couldn't fit anywhere else in there. You never realize how precious and valuable electricity is until you lose. Sure, we've had a few minor blackouts before, but those were nothing compared to this. No T.V., computer, microwave, freezer, fridge, lights, air conditioning, alarm clock (Justin has a watch, though), etc. Not that we could get through to anyone, but since all of the floods had knocked out all of the power lines, no cell phones either.

Max seemed to realize what was sincerely happening to the world and had decided that Justin and I weren't worth his time, so he'd been in his room, only coming down when our meals were served. Even then, he didn't even say a word to us. I had no idea what he was doing in his room besides mentally cursing the world. We all had. Not to mention cursing me.

Justin was trying the best he could at getting Max to come and socialize or communicate with us, but there was no such luck. Besides that, he'd actually been trying to plant a few fruits and vegetables outside on the terrace in case we ran out of anything. During his free time, he mainly read. I still noticed he got about only three hours of sleep each night; if even that.

Now I was completely bored out of my mind. I spent most my time down in the lair. The first time I peered out into the Wizard Portal, and not even the reassuring lightbulb was on. It was... dead. The rest of my time, I take out my wand and create that tiny little glow. It was fading away slowly.

**June 13**

**9 a.m.**

There was a knock at the door. You'd think with all of the windows boarded up, people would have a little common sense not to come.

Justin and I were in the lair and decided to just ignore it as usual.

The knock became more persistent. Justin got up from the couch but motioned me back as I mimicked him.

"Stay back," he warned. He didn't need to explain why. There had been plenty of people with weapons on them. Either for their own safety, or for their own advantage.

I didn't bother listening to him.

We both walked out into the substation. Now it sounded as if there was more than one person there. They seemed very eager to get in.

I grabbed Justin's arm in a tight hold.

He pushed me gently behind him. "Alex, I want you to go upstairs and -"

The strangers began to yell.

My eyes widened. I recognized the voice. "Justin! It's Harper and Zeke!" I screamed. I let go of his arm.

He let out a relieved sigh. I think he was holding his breathe. "We're coming, you guys!" he yelled.

He grabbed the wrench we kept beside door, and soon enough, the door was uncovered and easily able to get through.

Zeke was the first one through.

I ran straight toward him and engulfed him in a tight hug. "I missed you, Zeke!" He was soaked.

He hugged back and replied, "I missed you too, Alex."

We let go, and Justin and Zeke began to hug.

My eyes wandered to the girl on the other side of the door. As soon as I saw her, I began to cry.

She raced towards me and hugged me like she never had before. She was drenched also, but I didn't care.

"Alex? Why are you crying?" she asked in her amazingly, harmonic voice.

I pulled away and laughed. I wiped a few tears away from my eyes. "Because you're here, Harper. I'm happy." I smiled.

To the left, Justin and Zeke were beginning to speak in their foreign, alien language. I giggled at the reunion.

I sniffled. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

She furrowed her brows. "I'd never let that happen, Alex. You're my one and only best friend. Your last memory of me wouldn't be of Zeke and I leaving for a clogging competition. That's just sad." She then added, "And a little embarrassing also."

I giggled again and pulled her in for another hug. "I love you, Harper."

Harper whispered, "Same."

We let go, and Harper gave a quick hug to Justin also.

Zeke interrupted the moment by saying, "Alright, we all love each other here. Where's Max?"

Justin pulled away from Harper and answered, "He's been a little... mad at the world right now, I guess you could say."

"He's hiding in his room," I spoke.

"No, I'm not." Max came walking down the stairs.

I stared at him and crossed my arms. "Talking to us now?"

Justin interjected, "Alex..."

I rolled my eyes. "He's been _ignoring _us."

"Go ahead and talk. It's not like I'm here or anything." Max crossed his arms.

"You never are," I mumbled.

Max shot back, "Maybe I want to talk to some other people besides you two!"

Harper cut in, "You guys! We just got here, and you're fighting?"

"She started it," Max stated.

I rolled my eyes again. "Oh, yeah, real mature."

Harper looked at both of us and stated, "Max, I haven't seen you in awhile. Can I have a hug or something?"

He sneered at me and said, "Rather not." He raced towards the stairs.

"_Max_!" I yelled.

He had already made it all the way up, and we heard a door slam.

I tapped my foot and clenched my teeth. "I swear, he is getting on my very last nerve." I shook my head.

Justin spoke. "I'm sorry, you guys. They've been fighting for awhile, and I think we're all just stressed." I could see the worry in his eyes.

Harper spoke, "It's fine. We haven't really eaten since yesterday, so whatcha guys got?"

**June 13**

I had made tuna sandwhiches for lunch. The bread was stale since it was from the substation awhile back, but it was the best we had. We were saving the sugary stuff, so no dessert or anything. Although Harper and Zeke were reluctant to eat food I made, they didn't hesitate to scarf it down in a matter of minutes. Max had come down also but didn't make any conversation at all. Justin didn't want the other half of his sandwhich, so he gave it to me. I didn't complain.

After that, we had located a game in a closet next to the bathroom. _Scategories_. Justin and I had never played ironically, but once Zeke told us how, we killed an hour. We then found a few more games and wasted a lot more.

Around six, we had eaten dinner again. This time a chicken sandwhich. We didn't really have a wide variety.

After dinner, we had played some more of the games.

I was just about to roll the dice when Harper asked, "Alex, can I talk to you for a minute?"

The guys shrugged.

"I guess." I followed her into the kitchen.

I grabbed a warm water bottle from fridge and began to open it. "You know, your style has toned down quite a bit in the last two months." She was wearing a black spaghetti-strap shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. "Theres no such pattern on -"

She interrupted, "How's Justin doing?"

I was confused. "He's fine. Why?"

Harper widened her eyes and stated sharply, "Well, first of all, he looks like hell. He has major baggage under his eyes, and he's barely eating anything at all."

I replied, "He hasn't been sleeping a lot. He'd make a big deal out of it if I questioned him, and it wouldn't even help." I continued, "If you haven't noticed, we're trying to cut down on food in case anything crazier would happen, which I find very hard to believe. But I don't see anything different with his eating habits apart from mine."

She looked at me with complete disgust. "I can't believe how selfish you're being right now, Alex."

I dropped my mouth. "Excuse me? Repeat that please, would ya?"

She glared. "He's been giving you and Max half of his servings every meal. With the amount you guys are eating now, he's eating _nothing_!"

I rolled my eyes and was about to reply how it wasn't true until I realized that it was. He was giving away a bunch of his food to us each meal. How stupid could I be? Harper was right, I was being selfish. How could I not realize this before? "I didn't... realize," I whispered.

Harper sighed. "Look, Alex. I'm sorry, I'm just worried about him. He thinks his strong, but he's not as strong as he thinks. If you really look at him, you'll see what I mean."

I turned around and noticed him staring back. I licked my lips and turned away.

"I'm sorry, Harper. I'll- I'll make sure he doesn't give me anything anymore. I'll talk to him. I promise."

She widened her eyes in skepticism. "Alright."

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**Please review! **

**I think this chapter was... okay... I guess. I don't, but you can tell me with a review! :D**


	5. Baseball Camp?

****

Just to let you guys know, this chapter sucks. Yeah.

Enjoy it you must! (You must)

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**June 13**

"Why haven't you been eating?" I asked.

He whipped around so fast, he nearly dropped his coffee. He eyed me bewildered-like. "What're you doing up? It's three in the morning, Alex!"

I crossed my arms. "Don't change the subject, Justin. Why haven't you been eating?"

"Alex, you need to go to sleep." He placed a hand on my back and began to turn me around.

I grabbed his hand and shoved it back at him. "Answer me, Justin."

He sighed and placed the mug on the edge of the ledge. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I rolled my eyes. "That's BS, and you know it."

He raised his arms to stretch. "I've been eating just as much as you have."

I slammed my hand on the ledge. "This is _serious_, Justin! You've been giving me and Max some of your food for _weeks_ now!" I stared at him intently.

He scratched the back of his head and squinted at me. "So? What's giving away a little food?"

I glared. "_Half_ is not a little! You're gonna look like a friggin' skeleton by the time Halloween comes!"

He didn't respond.

I started, "You also haven't been sleeping either."

He shook his head. "Have you been keeping records on me or something, Alex?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off.

"You know, I have enough to worry about besides you nagging on me right now. Did you ever stop to think about that?"

"I'm just worried about you, Justin!" I shouted.

He rubbed his face with both hands. "Alex," he stressed my name out. " There's nothing to _worry about_!"

"You're so stubborn, Justin, you know that? Can't you just tell me why you're not eating all of your food or why you're not getting one, _damn _minute of sleep?" I demanded.

"Whether mom and dad are even alive, they're counting on me. They'd want me to protect you guys," he stated solemnly.

"They wouldn't want you to starve yourself, Justin." I looked at him sympathetically.

He stated frusteratedly, "I'm not starving myself!"

"Well, you're getting there," I stated meanly.

He looked away and placed his forearm on the ledge.

I grabbed his free hand. "Justin, please. I know I can't stop you from giving your food to Max, but can you at least just eat _more_?"

He yanked his hand away. "I can do whatever I want with my food. This is really a stupid discussion anyway."

I backed away. "What's the matter with you?" I asked heatidly.

He lifted his forearm from the ledge and placed his head in his hand. "Can you just... leave me alone?"

I scowled at him. "Whatever."

I left.

**June 13**

The power came on around noon today. Since neither of my brothers were in the presence of me, and Harper and Zeke were helping out with the laundry, I set up the laptop on the kitchen counter and went on the internet to check my e-mail. All I had was spam for flood insurance. In pure curiosity and time wastement, I decided to check our family e-mail. It was mainly for sub conventions and special offers, but we did use it for other things also. There was one e-mail that struck me.

_To the parents of __**Maximus Russo**__,_

_Concluding that you even check this due to the recent incident involving the moon, we are here to inform you that your check of $150.00 was transacted to us easily on the day of May 10. Your son is still elligible to join our baseball camp this summer. If you are still willing to come, there will be a brief bus stop for your son and hopefully many others at the church of St. Julius on the day of June 14. There is no need to contact us back with a response, but if you do decide to send him still, please be at the location at 10:15 a.m. We will be providing your son with fresh produce at the farm where the camp is stationed if he is willing to help out with the farming. There will be another camp stationed around the same area for girls who are hoping to follow a religious path. We hope this does not cause any inconvienence._

_Administrators at Four Bases Camp_

My heart began to beat rapidly as I ran up the stairs to Max's room. I banged on his door and screamed, "Max! Open up!"

The door opened, and Max glared at me. "What?"

I ignored his attitude and asked, "Did you and mom or dad talk about a baseball camp this summer?"

He crossed his arms. "Why do you care?"

"They're still open!" I smiled like I hadn't in forever.

"Yeah, right, Alex. You said the world's flooded and everything. I'm pretty sure a camp isn't going to be open."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "No, seriously! They're picking up kids at ten at our church tomorrow," I stated.

He just stood there scowling.

"Give up the attitude, dude. I have proof if you don't believe me."

He didn't. So we walked downstairs to the computer, and he read the letter over again.

For the first time in weeks, he smiled genuinley. "Can I go?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I just wanted to show you that the internet was on," I stated sarcasticly.

He started to get a confused look.

"_Yes_! You can go. You might actually have fun for a change," I stated optimisticly.

"Where's Max going?" a voice asked from the top of the stairs.

I looked up and saw Justin. "Max is going to a baseball camp tomorrow."

He walked down. "What?" he asked.

I sighed. "Do I really have to repeat it for you?"

Max backed away with his hands spread out in front of him. "I'm gonna go pack and not get involved." He raced past Justin up the stairs to his room.

Justin grimaced. "Do you have to have everything told twice to you?"

I squinted. "Well, this is the first time I'm hearing about this, so no?"

He walked over to the counter and stated, "I don't want Max going to the camp."

I shook my head in confusion. "Why? I see absolutely _no_ problem with him going. Plus it'll get him out of the house. He needs it."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm trying to protect you guys."

"And a camp isn't protective?"

"Something could happen to him, Alex."

I laughed. "Anything could happen to him, Justin. Whether he's here or there!"

Justin glared. "He's not going."

"I'm not going?"

Justin grimaced again and looked up at Max from the stairs. "No, you're not."

Max dropped his mouth. "But Alex said!"

"Well, she lied." Justin looked at me.

I glared at him intensly. I looked up at Max and got up from my chair. "You're going."

Justin gripped the side of the counter. "I'm in charge here, Alex -"

I opened my mouth is disbelief and walked towards him. "Who made _you_?"

"Nobody _needs_ to!" I walked closer.

"Well somebody apparently did! He's going to the freaking _camp_!"

Harper and Zeke walked into the room holding hands. "What's going on?" she asked.

Justin shook his head. "He's not going!" We were about three inches apart. I could see the outline of sweat on the top of his forehead.

"Fine!" I swiveled on my heel and ran up the stairs to my room.

**June 14**

"Max!" I whispered.

It was four in the morning. Justin was in his room, but I could tell he was awake because of the light coming out at the bottom of his door.

"Max, open up!" I whispered more urgently. I wouldn't knock on the door, because I was sure Justin would be able to hear.

I pressed my ear to the door and heard a slight yelp. Next, I heard the sound of footsteps coming closer. I stepped away from the door just as it opened.

"Wha d'you want?" Max mumbled. He raised his hands to rub his eyes.

"You're going to the camp," I whispered.

He dropped his hands and asked loudly. "What?"

"Shhh!" I raised my index finger to my mouth. "You're going to the camp. Did you finish packing?"

He shook his head. "Alex, I'm confused. Justin said I couldn't go -"

I sighed. "Look, forget what Justin said. It doesn't matter. What matters is if you still want to go the camp."

He brought his hand up to his mouth and yawned.

"Max!" I whispered quietly. "Do you still want to go?"

He squeezed his eyes then opened them again. "Well, yeah. Totally. But Justin said I can't."

"I don't care what Justin said!" I whispered. I sighed. "Pack. Tomorrow you're leaving. Justin will _not_ know. I'll distract him while you leave. You can get there by yourself, right? I mean, it's like two blocks away -"

He glared at me. "Yes, Alex. I know perfectly well how to get there; we go every Sunday."

"Fine." I looked at him more closely. "Are you sure you want to go? There's no pressure at all. But if you do, you have to be sneaky. I'm gonna get in a _lot_ of trouble for this."

He smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks, Alex. And..." He hesitated. "I'm sorry for being... well, you know. Really mean and rude and -"

I ruffled his hair and whispered, "It's okay, Maxie. Just don't do it again, or there _will_ be consequences, got it?"

He laughed. "I promise."

I glanced toward Justin's room. His light was still on. I turned back to Max. "Good. Now get some sleep; you'll need it."

He shut the door and I began to walk back towards my room.

Even though my room was close, it was still one room after Justin's. I quietly rose to my tippy toes and stalked across his room.

Pain struck through my ankle as I began to cramp. "Frick!" I yelled. I placed my hand on the nearest surface which was coincidentally the wall between my and Justin's room. I hadn't been in ballet since I was three. I slid down the slight piece of wall and grabbed my hurt ankle to try and soothe the pain.

I mentally cursed myself when his door creaked open. The light was blinding.

"Alex?" he asked. His hair was messy and his eyes looked vibrant and glossy.

I bit my tongue. "Mhmm?"

"Are you okay?" He scratched the back of his head.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm amazing!" I said sarcasticly.

He raised his eyebrows. "Do you want help up?" He offered a hand.

I grabbed it. He pulled me up, but he didn't let go. Instead, he brought me into his room.

"I'm actually pretty tired right now, so I need -"

"Look, I just want to say this quickly, but I'm sorry for blowing up at you yesterday."

I sat down on his bed. I heard a slight buzzing noise.

He looked at me intently. "Aren't you going to say something?"

"You're forgiven." I smiled up at him.

"Alex -"

"Fine! Gosh, Justin, take a joke, will ya?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry for 'blowing up' at you, too." The annoying buzzing noise continued.

"It's okay." He walked over to his bed and sat down next to me.

I held up a finger. "But I don't think you want to apologzie fully yet."

"Why?"

I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. "Oh... You know... I'm probably up for some more devious plans sooner or later." _Preferrably tomorrow, _I thought. "And what is that _noise_?" I asked annoyed.

He pointed to his old CD player. "It's the radio. I know I shouldn't, but that's why I've been staying up. They've been occasionally broadcasting a list of who's dead. So far, mom and dad haven't been on it. I've just been waiting for anything bad to occur, but so far it hasn't."

"Well, that's a good thing, though." I thought for a moment. "They only state this in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah," he stated. His face became hard.

I grabbed his hand. "Justin, I know you're scared but -"

"Didn't you say you were tired? I think you should get some sleep. What were you even doing in the first place?"

He obviously didn't want to talk. "Uhh, I was going to the bathroom," I lied.

His expression became confused. "The bathroom's in the opposite direction."

Oh. "I - I um... I went to get some water after." Yeah. That should do.

He lifted his eyebrows. "Whatever." He laid back on his bed and closed his eyes. He stretched his arms back, and a little bit of his shirt came up to reveal his abs.

I looked away quickly in case he saw me. "Um... I should get back to bed. Like you stated before..." I trailed off. I got up and headed for my room.

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**You thought I lied? Well, now you know I didn't! Suckish, suckish chapter... *shakes disappointedly***

**Review? For me? :)**


	6. Free Food

**Soooooo... Sorry for taking so long to update this; I was teaching my fish how to swim (haha), but it's Spring Break, so I'm FREEEEE! I can also sleep in, too ;P So I might just get around to updating chapters more frequent. Or just blow it off completely; who knows. **

**Are any of you wondering where Mason is in this story? Yeah, same here.**

**OMG, have you guys seen the movie ****Frozen****? That movie is SO depressing, but SO good/gory/intense/omg-what-the-hell/OH MY GOSH, THAT'S SICK/she's the only who lived/whoa o.O at the same time! Ergh! Kevin Zegers played in that unicorn movie... Too bad he got eaten alive by wolves while bones were sticking out of his legs...**

**You guys want this to be a Jalex story, right? 'Cuz I can totally make that happen ;)**

**Enjoy! (BTW, I'm sorry I'm adding so much in the A/N. I'm bored and in a talkative mood.)**

* * *

**June 14**

I was waiting. Waiting for the moment when Justin'd barge into my room screaming where Max is.

My door opened with a bang. Here it was.

"Alex! Where the _hell _is Max?" His face was lined with sweat, his eyes were almost as large as dad's when he turned into a bug, and his lower lip was sticking out in an almost growl.

Oooh, cursing. I got up from my position on the bed and walked towards him. "Justin, Max isn't here," I stated.

He grabbed his hair and pulled. "I know that, _Alex_! Where _is _he? Please don't say what I think you're going to say."

I sighed. "He's probably traveling on a bus right now. Justin, please don't be mad -"

"Don't be mad? Don't be _mad_? Are you kidding me, Alex? I'm _furious_! I specifically told you he _couldn't go_! And what did you do? You went behind my back and did it anyway!" His eyes became watery. "Why can't you _ever _listen to me, Alex?" he growled through his clenched teeth.

I dropped my mouth. "I didn't want him cooped up in his room for the rest of his life! He deserves so much more right now, and you won't give it to him! I was willing to, so I told him last night to leave at the right time." I paused. He was glaring at me. "I'm sorry, Justin, but I did what was right whether you agree with it or not."

"Damn it, Alex!"

My eyes bulged. "What's the matter! You're freaking out over nothing, Justin!"

He placed his hands firmly on my shoulders.

I flinched.

He licked his lips and took in a deep breathe. He said slowly, "You don't know _anything_ about what could happen."

I getting really mad at him now. I yanked out of his hold and glared at him. "Maybe that's because you don't _tell_ me! You're the one telling me I'm so freaking ignorant, but you're not even telling me anything that's going on!" I screamed.

"It'll be my fault if anything happens to him!" he yelled.

His words sunk into me. I didn't realize he'd get the blame if anything happened to one of us. Nothing would happen to us here, but with Max gone, anything actually _could_ happen to him. Justin would have the weight of everything on his shoulders. That's not fair.

There was a knock at the door. I looked over to see Harper standing in the doorway.

I wasn't in the mood. "Look, sorry, Harper, but Justin and I are pretty occupied right now. Come back in a few minutes if you need something, okay?" I stated annoyed.

"You guys, we can here you from all the way downstairs," she said, totally ignoring my snarky comment.

"Your point?" I snapped.

"_Alex!_" Justin yelled.

"What?" I yelled back at him.

Harper walked in a little more. "I don't mean to interject or anything, but where's Max?"

"Oh my gosh," I breathed.

"Alex went behind my back and told him to go to the baseball camp," he stated.

Harper's mouth dropped. "She what?" She turned to me.

I looked down at my feet. I needed to re-paint my toes.

"How could you, Alex?" she asked solemnly.

If Justin was going to be a complete ass about it, I didn't care if he had all of the responsibilty. He was the oldest; somebody had to take care of us. I shrugged. "You're right. I don't know why I did it. I guess it was pretty stupid. I mean, why would I want my little brother to enjoy something and not get stuck in this messed up place? It's sick, right? So I'm sorry. Really, I am." I looked up at both of them.

Justin was looking to the floor.

Harper held an empty expression.

"I'm gonna go find him." The next moment, Justin was out of the room racing down the halls.

I followed him out the front door. "He left like an hour ago!" I yelled.

He didn't turn around.

I rolled my eyes and continued to run after him. "Justin, wait up!"

After a few minutes of silence and me huffing and puffing, we reached the church. No one was there.

I turned toward him. "Justin, I don't know what to say."

He turned around and started to walk again. "Come on."

About halfway back, we heard voices. A lot of them. We walked around a corner and saw a very, long line. There were state troopers guarding the line. I could make out them stating some rules.

"One bag per household. All bags are identical. Make any trouble, and no bag. No cost, but a thank-you would be appreciated."

We had run out of the sub station food and were now living off of the grocery-bought food. Food went by really fast when you actually start to notice.

"Let's stand in line," Justin stated.

So we did.

**June 15**

Silent treatment. That was my punishment. Even though I practically didn't do anything wrong. But no, Justin had quit speaking to me. Harper and Zeke weren't talking to me either. I didn't care.

Without electricity, company, and the world ending, I didn't have much to do really. One thing I could always depend on was art. Over the past month, I had been using up every last piece of canvas I had. When I ran out, I deserted to the empty sheets of notebook paper from school. The blue lines were a bit distracting, but it was worth it.

I hadn't had much of a muse lately, so I had just ended drawing the moon. This is what passed for humor in my life.

**June 19**

Father's Day. I cried for what seemed like hours. I didn't know how long I cried because there weren't any clocks around.

When the world was coming to an end, I didn't have my father around with me.

I cried some more.

**June 21**

I'm hot. I feel like crying. I think I ran out of tears.

It's been over 100 degrees this past week. No electricity. I feel disgusting. There've been mosquitoes coming in here for some reason these last couple of days. I honestly don't care what reason, but I want to kill them. I swear I have over 25 bites.

Harper and Zeke started talking to me again. Justin hasn't. I don't care.

I'm really hot and itchy.

**June 29**

The mosquitoes are becoming a living hell. I swear I have over 50 bites on me.

Justin spoke to me yesterday. I was actually kind of surprised how long he could go without speaking to me. All he told me was to cover up. He said the mosquitoes might be carrying malaria.

"This is New York, Justin. Not Africa," I had said.

"Don't wear spaghetti straps and shorts anymore. I think there's some repellent down in the basement. You need to be protected." He had stared a few extra seconds at what I was wearing. I had felt self-conscious.

"Well, it's been over 100 degrees, so I'm not wearing a turtle-neck or jeans or anything like that."

He didn't respond.

**July 2**

I remember in eigth grade how we had to read The Diary of Anne Frank. I was depressed the whole week after reading it. I wonder if she felt the same way I am right now. Especially for two years. I don't think I can handle 6 months.

Justin started rambling on about how we needed to get wood for winter.

I started to laugh. It's the middle of summer, and we need to get wood?

I think I have around 80 bites. All on my legs. I only 'cover up' when I'm around Justin.

I wish Max was back.

* * *

**This was boring.**

**I hope you enjoyed! :D Please review!**

**BTW, please don't make jokes about my fish in the near future for whatever reason. I'll tell you my whole, life, fish story. I had won two goldfish at our school's Ice Cream Social in kindergarten with the 'Toss-the-Ball-in-the-Cup' game, and the next day they were dead, and my mom flushed them without me knowing, so I was ex**_**tremely**_** sad. My beta committed suicide when I was seven or eight ;( It was a sad day. I'm absolutely serious. Seriously. You know the cleaner, tank thingy? Well, I came home from school, and Rainbow's head was cut off. So... yeah. My tiger fish ate all eight of my other fish even though the PetSmart people said it was compatible with the other fish (No, don't say it was the beta; she/he wouldn't do that.) My mom flushed the tiger fish down the toilet without it being dead. So, last year, I had gotten the courage to buy a new fish to see if my luck had changed. The two weeks after I bought it, I think it had an aneurism (s/p), because it's head was enlarged extremely, and it was "sleeping" upside down. I DON'T COMMIT FISH NEGLECTMENT! THEY NEGLECT ME AND TRY TO GET ME DEPRESSED!**

**I'm not a fish person. **


	7. Bye Bye, Harper & Zeke

**Awwww, you guys! Your reviews made me smile! ;D I'm seriously so, so grateful; they're so motivational and I really like 'em! But I have a bit of a problem... Some people don't want Jalex ... But Jalex is **_**so freaking **_**A M A Z I N G !**

**Anyway...**

**Yes, these last few chapters have been a bit boring and reptetive, but it's because I needed to skip to a certain date, but I didn't want to skip too much... Make sense? I promise it gets better in this chapter! Well, to me I think. You may start to cry... or not. (I use periods a lot; sorry for that.)**

**Enjoy! Sorry for any grammatical errors. I wrote half of this at 2:56 a.m.**

* * *

**July 4**

Happy Independence Day.

Yay!

The only person who's closest to freedom is Max. What I wouldn't do to escape this reality right now.

I had been painting my nails when my door suddenly opened. It was Harper.

"Can I talk to you, Alex?" she asked.

I couldn't tell if anything was wrong. "Yeah, sure." I twisted the cap back onto my white nail polish. "You can sit down." I scooted over.

She sat down and bit her lip.

"What did you wanna talk about?" I asked. I could tell she had been thinking about this a lot. Harper had become more serious and not like herself lately. I know it's because we're all stressed, but I needed my friend back. I blew on my nails.

"Alex, you know Zeke and I aren't staying here, right?"

What? What was she talking about? "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "This is your home. We just came to stay for a month or so to see how you guys were doing."

"Harper, this _is_ your home. You've been living here for the past year," I stated.

She grabbed my hand. "Alex," she laughed.

I pulled it away. "Why are you laughing?" I'm over-reacting.

"It isn't that big of a deal, Alex. Zeke's parents have a... better environment, I guess you could say." She chuckled again.

I squinted at her. "A better _environment_? What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed. "I mean - I just think we'd be better somewhere else besides here."

"So you're leaving me," I responded.

She tried to grab my hand again, but I got up from the bed instead.

She placed her head in her hands. "Alex..."

I leaned against my dresser. "Harper, why are you doing this? You're leaving me with Justin."

"You've been fine with that for awhile," she mumbled.

I crossed my arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She looked up at me and threw her arms up in the air. "You don't even notice us here! All you do is fight with Justin and sulk around the house like a zombie! I don't even know why you're reacting over thisI hate seeing my best friend act like this," she whispered sullenly.

I pressed my finger to the side of my eye to erase away all evidence of tears. "Well, what am I supposed to do without you here? You're my only friend, Harper. I need you. And you're just going to leave?"

Harper looked down. "I'm sorry, Alex. You're my best friend -you know that. But -" She paused. "We already told Zeke's parents we'd stay with them. There's actually supervision there and -"

"You're staying because he has _parents_ there?" I asked heatedly.

"No! I didn't mean it that way. Alex, you can come with us. You, Justin, and Max. "

I looked down. "Harper..."

"His parents would be fine with it! We wouldn't have to leave each other! It would be perfect, right?" She looked at me. Her eyes seemed a bit glazed, like she knew there'd be something that would hold us back. "Zeke's talking to Justin right now."

I stared at my white nails and said, "We can't."

"Well, why not?"

"Harper, our parents could come back home. If we're not there, they'd probably think something happened to us," I tried to explain.

Harper shook her head. "Alex, you can't seriously believe that, can you?"

I placed my hands on my hips. "About what?" I had pretty good idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want her to say it.

"Alex, the Statue of Liberty was washed out to sea!" Harper stated frantically. "You can't still think that they're still alive."

Tears escaped my eyes before I could brush them away. "Yes, I do actually believe that!"

Harper looked down. "It's the most logical reason, Alex! I don't want you waiting around for something that's not going to happen!"

My eyes became blurry. "They could've stopped and gotten dinner first! They could've changed their minds and decided to skip the freaking statue! They could've taken a walk around Central Park! They could've changed their minds!" I cried. I was sobbing now; the sob where you can't breathe and feel like you're going to throw up.

Harper got up from my bed and walked towards me. She tried to wrap her arms around me, but I wouldn't let her.

"No! You can't tell me my parents are dead (hiccup) and have me be okay with it, Harper!" I hiccuped again. "You can't say it!" I screamed.

My eyes were blurry and wet, but I could tell that Harper's mouth was slightly hanging open.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Justin coming into the room.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I just don't want you to get your hopes up. They're not alive anymore," Harper stated quietly.

I heard Justin say to Harper, "Stop it, Harper. Can't you see what you're doing to her?"

I pressed my hands to my ears and slid down my dresser with my legs pressed up against me chest. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to drown out the outside noises. "They're not dead,"I whispered to myself quietly. "They're not dead."

Suddenly, I felt a different pair of arms wrap around me.

I looked up and saw Justin crouched in front of me.

I didn't resist when he pulled me up into his arms. He placed one arm under my knees and the other under my neck. I grasped at his neck and cried into his shoulder.

**July 4 **

I opened my eyes and noticed I was laying on my bed. I had my teeth clenched since they tasted and felt horrible. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I felt really groggy. Since I hadn't been sleeping with any type of sheet or blanket, I noticed part of my shirt was pulled up below my breasts.

"You're up," a familiar voice stated.

I looked around the room and saw Justin sitting on a chair, reading a book with his legs crossed. I tugged my shirt down.

"I don't remember falling asleep." My voice cracked. I cleared it.

"You were kind of worked up. Want some water?" He grabbed a glass from my desk and handed it to me.

I sat up a bit and grabbed it from him. I took a few sips and said, "Thanks." I paused. "What do you mean I was kind of worked up?" I asked.

"You and Harper went at it about," he stated. He shut his book and scooted forward a bit.

Right when he mentioned her name, it all came back to me. I dropped my head back and said, "She must be pissed."

"You're more entitled to it than her," he said. He seemed calm. The last few weeks he'd been on hyperventilation over-drive mainly because of me. But now, he seemed placid. It suited him better. His eyes weren't as crazed and intriguing. His nostrils weren't flared 24/7. His muscles seemed more relaxed.

I handed him back the glass of water. "You mean you're not taking Harper's side?" That would be a first. Harper was always the more controlled and logical one, so of course he'd always taken her side on everything.

His expression became confused. "Why would I? She had no right to say those things to you."

I nodded. Then I thought, "Justin, are we going with them? To Zeke's?"

He sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "We really should. It'd be better."

I groaned.

"But since neither of us wants to, I guess we can stay here," he answered.

My eyes widened. I jumped up from bed and hugged him. "Thank you, Justin," I whispered into his ear.

He rubbed my back. "You're welcome."

**July 4**

I wish somebody would've told me that they were leaving today. I should've been more sympathetic towards Harper, but I was still extremely pissed at her.

They stayed for dinner, but then they gathered all of their belongings (Harper was leaving a major amount of her 'supplies' here).

I made myself hug them. I knew I'd regret it later if I didn't.

"Be safe," I had told them.

They left.

I clapped both of my hands together and walked into the kitchen. "So I guess it's just you and me now."

"I guess," he said. He sat down on a bar stool.

I placed my elbows on the counter and placed my head in my hands. I said, "Okay, I have a few questions for you. I'm almost sure you're going to say no to all of them, but I'm just gonna go with them."

"Go on," he responded. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"I wanna cut down on meals," I stated.

"No, Alex -"

"For Max!"

"Alex, you're not skipping any meals."

I sighed. "I skip lunch at school sometimes! It's not that big of a deal. Eating three meals a day is good, but it's not necessary, Justin."

He paused and began thinking. He then stated, "Two meals every other day."

"Okay, good." I smiled. "Now for my _next_ question, can I help with the radio listening? I feel like you're not giving me enough feedback."

"I don't know..."

I rolled my eyes. "Come _on_, Justin! I barely even sleep at all anyways. It couldn't hurt. I promise to listen closely and all that stuff." I fluttered my eyes. "Besides, I love coffee, and you're drinking all of it."

"Fine. You'll do it every third day."

"Starting tonight!" I exclaimed. "I believe we've made oursleves a compromise."

He chuckled. "Fine, we can start tonight."

* * *

**At this line, **'"I clapped both of my hands together and walked into the kitchen. "So I guess it's just you and me now,"' **my mind so went dirty. :P But let's not get greedy here. And this line too, **'He chuckled. "Fine, we can start tonight."'

**The Maine **

**Was this totally OOC? I'm sorry if I put you through that... *shakes head disappointedly***

**So I just wanted to do a quickie (I'm on a **_**roll**_**! ^^). The next chapter will be a **_**lot**_** more action-packed. Just wait for July 10, then you'll see what I mean. Not very action-packed, I guess, but a major thing happens.**

**Sorry I've been making Harper and Alex enemies. I didn't mean to ;(**

**I hope you liked! Please review!**


	8. Ash

**Sorry for the long wait ;/... I **_**know**_** this is so short, but I **_**swear**_** I've already started the next chapter; I just wanted a dramatic effect I guess you could say ) So... yeah :)**

**Enjoy! Excuse any grammatical errors that may have been secretly planted in here. o.O**

* * *

_"...July 10, more than 50 of them have been dormant. This could be another devestating milestone for the world..."_

The static became increasingly loud, and I lifted my head to pull my earphones out. I groaned when I felt the stiffness in the neck. I must've fallen asleep on the table from the night before.

I rubbed it with my hand, but I felt a sudden chill creep up my arms. _What?_ It's been over 100 degrees these past couple of weeks. Why would I be cold?

I lifted my stiff neck towards the doors to the terrace. We'd been keeping the curtains closed so the heat wouldn't get in as quickly, but from the crack underneath, I didn't see any sunshine.

I got up from the bar stool and pulled back the curtains.

My eyes bulged, and my mouth dropped. The whole city had a weird overcast. It wasn't really cloudy or anything, it was just like someone had tinted the sky gray. I touched the glass doors and felt a cold tingle.

I looked up towards the stairs as if I could see Justin's room. I then glanced at the clock on the microwave._ 4:09_. I couldn't go up to tell Justin since he'd been sleeping until around six o'clock thankfully.

Hopefully what was going on could wait two more hours.

I bunched the curtains in my hands and pulled them close together.

* * *

**July 10 **_**(5:56 a.m.)**_

"Are you reading?" Justin asked wearily. He walked down the stairs slowly.

I rolled my eyes and placed the book face-down on my lap. "I'm bored. I'm desperate, so yes, I am reading." I was reading _Twilight_ sadly. The last book my mom got me as an attempt to read.

He quietly chuckled and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. "It's kind of chilly in here." Almost like a reflex, his eyes darted towards the terrace doors.

"Justin..." I started. I didn't know what was going on, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't good.

He raced to doors and opened the curtains.

I heard him curse under his breathe.

I placed the book onto the couch and got up. I walked towards him and asked, "What's going on? It's just some weird type of overcast, right?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. He started to pace the room. He muttered, "It's getting worse."

I walked over to him. "What do you mean? What happened?"

His gaze darted towards my eyes. "They're volcanoes, Alex. Probably all of them have erupted in the world."

My heart sunk. "But aren't like some dormant or whatever? There can't be that many erupting, right?"

"The magnetic pull could of forced them out of their state and made them active. Alex, this is serious." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back to the doors. He opened the curtains and pointed outside. "All of this is _ash_. It's not some type of overcast; it's _all ash_!"

I pulled my hand from his grasp and placed both of my hands in front of my mouth. "What's going to happen?"

He turned away from the doors and leaned against them instead. "Well, first of all, many people could die from inhalation. Second, all of the ash could pollute the water, so we better not drink straight from it anymore. Without any sunlight, crops are going to die, since, of course of photosynthesis." He thought for a second. He closed his eyes, and his voice trembled as he said, "And wihtout any direct sunlight, the weather will increasingly change, as it already has."

"Isn't that good? It won't be sweltering anymore, right?" I wouldn't be having heat flashes every hour.

"For now. But think about the next couple of months, Alex. By the middle of October, it could be below twenty degrees." He sighed and stated, "And I can't even imagine what it'll be like in the winter."

I let the information sink in. Of course, how could I be so stupid? We'd probably freeze to death. Especially since our furnace broke again last winter.

I clenched my hands into fists. "What are we going to do?"

Justin stared deeply into my eyes. "We need to wait until Max gets back."

"Then what?" I asked.

He looked down. He sighed and stated, "I think we'll have to leave."

**Please don't be mad at me... ;( It's short; I know... But it's still a chapter, right? No? Well, whatever. The next one will be longer!**

**Did this chapter (disregard the fun-sizedness) just seem... like bad? Yeah, I totally agree with you.**

**Holy. Ba. Jeezus. You're reviews? They had my cheeks hurting so bad, I was smiling so wide! I'm so grateful for them, so I want to thank **_**ALL**_** of you! I'm just... ERGH! I'm in bliss everytime I get one; whether negative or positive, it shows you read my story and... I just love you guys so frigging much. Thank you :)**

**On **_**that **_**note (! :D), please review!**

**Does anybody need a beta? I'd be happy to be one :)**

**(If you're sick of crazy fan-girls, then leave this page immediately :P)**

**OH. MY. GOD. DO YOU GUYS WATCH iCARLY? iOMG? That's all I'm gonna say ;) Seddie FTW!**

**Bye :)**


	9. Peanut Butter

**It's longer! :D I had a case of writer's block, but I have an incredible idea in my head! Ergh! I don't know when I should put it in the story though.. o.O Max needs to get home though! I mean, I could ditch him, but that would be mean :(**

**Enjoy! Sorry for any grammatical errors! Some evil leprachaun put them in there because I pissed him off... ...**

**July 10**

* * *

"Leave?" I whispered. I looked down at my toes. Some of the nail polish had scraped off. I should probably re-paint them soon.

"Look, Alex, I know you want to stay here, but it probably won't be safe." I could hear the sympathy in his voice.

I kept my head down. "But you said we could wait for mom and dad."

He sighed and leaned in towards me. "I know. But, Alex, we can't live like this forever."

I raised my head and glared at him. "Forever? Justin, we've only been "living" like this for two months! You're just going to give up like that?" I yelled.

He tensed up and stated firmly, "I'm not giving up, Alex! But I don't usually prefer to see my siblings suffering when I could've done something about it before!"

I balled my hands into fists. "Can we _please_ stop talking about dying and suffering for _one_ day? Justin, if we leave, mom and dad might come back, and what do you think they'll think?"

"_Alex_! Yes, they _might_ come back, who knows? But I don't want to risk your and Max's lives to wait around for something that might not happen!" he yelled.

"God, do you even care about them anymore?" I shouted. As soon as I said, I regretted it.

He rolled his eyes. "That's low, Alex. That's even low for you."

I closed my eyes. "Justin-"

"I mean, how could you even say that - let alone even _think_ it? Of course I do! But say they do come back, and we're still here. Chances are we're either going to be starving, freezing, sick, or just plain dead. What's going to happen then?" His eyes glistened.

I couldn't think of anything to say. So instead of continuing on with the conversation, I piveted towards the stairs and ran up to my room with a slam of the door.

* * *

**July 14**

I creeped out of my room. The light from Justin's room was glowing, so I could tell he was listening to the radio. I walked down the stairs on my tippy toes. It was the middle of the night. _3:16_ to be exact.

I hopped off the last step of the stairs and walked over to the kitchen. I stumbled across the floor since I couldn't see a dang thing. Without the habitual microwave light, the street lamps usually reflecting against the glass doors inside, or the accidental showing of infomercials when the T.V. was left on, the whole house was unbearable to walk through at night. Especially since the ash was covering the moonlight.

I walked over to the refridgerator and opened it up. The glaring light wasn't there; not even the heart-attack-causing ice dropping noise. Everything seemed so empty.

I reached around inside the useless refridgerator and pulled out the first thing I grabbed. By the shape and feel of it, I could tell it was peanut butter.

My mouth began to water with the thought of it. Peanut butter never sounded so delicious.

I twisted the cap to the left until it opened, but then felt the paper covering. I grabbed at the scanty piece at the side and tried to claw it off but to no avail.

I raced to the drawers and ransacked through the silverware. I grabbed a kitchen knife and jabbed at the paper covering until I could rip it off all together. It had peanut butter on it, so I licked it off carefully. It was delicious. I dropped the knife carelessly to the floor by the sink and grabbed a big spoon in the same drawer.

I didn't care about the world right now. I didn't care about if we'd die hungry because I ate this one jar of peanut butter. For ten days, I 'd been skipping meals, and I wanted this peanut butter more than anything in the world.

I rested my hip against the counter by the sink and sunk the spoon into the thick, rich peanut butter. It had collected a major glob. I placed the spoon in my mouth and was soon in heaven.

I sunk down to the ground against the cabinets and savored the sweet moment.

For a few more minutes, I sat there grabbing more spoonfuls of peanut butter until I felt that sick feeling. The kind where the peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth and throat and you just randomly feel like throwing up. I also felt pathetic. Eating peanut butter? Straight out of the jar? God, I was being selfish.

I placed the peanut butter down on the ground. I grabbed behind me for the side of the counter to pull myself up. Just when I was pulling my feet closer for better balance, I felt something slice through my left foot.

"Damn it!" I cursed. I looked down and noticed the knife I threw on the floor was sticking out of my foot. I hissed in pain.

I hopped on one foot and started to hobble when I slammed my hip into the side of the counter. A sharp pain echoed through my body, and I felt tears brim around my eyes.

I felt around for the counter next to sink and pushed myself up onto it. I slipped my hand between my knees to the drawer right below me and grabbed a dish towel. I fumbled around for the sink handle but eventually got the water running. I placed the towel under the faucet until I got it wet.

I didn't exactly know how to do this , but I was going to try.

I crossed my injured foot over my right leg. I put pressure on the wound, and the tears started to escape. With the pressure, I gingerly tugged at the knife. I bit my lip hard when I pulled it all the way out. Although it wasn't a deep cut, it still hurt like hell.

I threw the knife into the sink figuring I'd clean it later after I bandaged myself up. I grabbed another towel from the drawer below me and wrapped it around my foot warily. I knotted it at the top and hopped down from the counter.

I figured my hip was cut, but I'd deal with that tomorrow. Or, later in the day.

I bent down and picked up the peanut butter and twisted the cap on. I placed it back in the fridge.

Suddenly, I heard a door creak. I shut my eyes in stupidity._ He could be coming to check in on me! But that would be kind of weird, right? Or worse, he could be coming down _here_!_

I froze for a few seconds until I heard the bathroom door open all the way down the hallway of the second floor.

Guys peed fast, so I limped as fast as I could up the stairs and into my room.

* * *

**July 14**

"Alex!" My door slammed open.

I bolted up in my bed. "What?"

Justin stood at the foot of my bed with a bloody knife at his side. "What happened?"

Oh. "I stepped on a knife by accident." I yawned. My foot throbbed with the thought of it.

His eyes were crazed. "On _accident_? Are you even sure it was your _foot_, Alex?" His face and words were buttered with scorn.

I squinted at him. "What do you mean am I sure it's my foot?" What else could I have... Oh...

I glared at Justin. "Do you need a body examination, Justin?" I pushed off all of my covers off just before my feet. I ran my fingers up and down my arms and legs. "Look, no _cuts_!" I pushed off the rest of my covers. "Or is the towel wrapped around my _freaking foot_ good enough for you?" I didn't show him my hips, because there was probably a cut from me banging it last night.

He swallowed. "I wasn't trying to make you angry."

"Well, how else am I supposed to act? God, Justin, I'd love a little trust!" I sneered.

He looked down at the knife. "I just thought... With the knife..."

"Well, you thought wrong, okay?" I stated heatidly.

He sighed. "I'm sorry." He put the knife down on my dresser and sat down at the edge of the bed. "Can I at least look at it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I stuck my foot out in front of him.

He placed a pillow underneath it and gently unwrapped it, but when it finally came off, he hissed. "This is infected. Bad. Why didn't you come to me when it happened?"

I sighed. "It was three in the morning. I figured you were sleeping." _Or because I was pigging out on peanut butter._

He stared questiongly at me. "We're you using the knife with anything before you stepped on it? Or was there anything on it? Maybe like dirt or dust or anything at all?"

_Yes._ "No."

"I'm going to have to get some disinfective spray and some other things. I'll be right back," he stated. He left the room.

I looked at my foot and noticed that it was swollen with a purplish tint to it. I touched it and it throbbed. I placed my foot back on the pillow.

He entered the room again with demonic spray and some other things. He sat back down on the bed and grabbed my foot. "Okay, this is gonna sting a bit." He began to spray.

I clenched the sheets as the pain spread out my whole body. Tears formed once again at the side of my eyes.

He looked at me with sincerity. "Sorry." He grabbed a cotton cleaner thingy and wiped my foot. After that, he grabbed a big band-aid and stuck it on. "I'm done."

I wiped at my eyes. "Thanks."

"When's the last time you had a tetanus shot?" he asked. He gently rubbed around the bottom of my ankle in a circular motion.

A what? "A what?"

"Okay, so I'm guessing not in awhile. Alex, can you tell if you feel... sick in any way? Or if you start to ache anywhere."

"Why?" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Just cause."

"Okay." I waited for him to let go of my foot. "Justin. You said you were done?" I pointed towards my foot.

He looked down and immediately dropped it like it was on fire or something. "Sorry..." he mumbled. He looked back towards my door. "I should probably leave."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Bye." He left.

* * *

**Urgh! This chapter seriously**_** SUCKS**_**! I just need Max to get home, then we can get a move on! I didn't want to skip too much time, but July needs to end :P Sorry, guys.**

**Please review!**

**Oh! Yeah, I forgot to say on the last chapter, I do have a gutter mind ;) I'd state some more examples, but I don't want to waste your time :)**


	10. Ransacked

**Phew! Sorry, guys. I don't have much of an excuse except that I was extrememly busy (NHS, my birthday was on Tuesday of last week, I have babysit, Yearbook, Softball, Student Council...). So sorry! But it's up now!**

**OH. MY. GOD(sh). I canNOT believe how many reviews I have! :O Thank you guys SO, SO much! :D**

* * *

**July 29**

"They should've been here already," I whined. I crossed my arms and started to tap my foot on the ground.

We'd been at the church for the past forty minutes. Even though nobody really lived over here, the church was packed. There were sleeping bags covering the pews and on the floor, empty wrappers and cartons of food and water, dirty clothes scattered around (which I didn't really consider very saint-like). The church was lit up with only the candles surrounding the perimeter. Nearly every pew was filled with people praying. Justin and I thought it'd be best to stay outside and wait with the rest of the few families.

"Calm down. They're only five minutes late, Alex," Justin stated.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't get how _you're_ not freaking out. You're the one who went all ballistic with him leaving."

He turned towards me and gave me a sly smile. "Would you prefer it if I was still freaking out?"

I sneered at him.

"The only thing I'm worried about is leaving the subshop by itself. We still get people trying to break in."

"Well, we've been fine the past few weeks, haven't we?" I asked. I only remember the incident from like last month.

Justin fidgeted with the hem of his v-neck. "There've been a few more."

I squinted at him. "A _few_ more? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you. It's not a big deal, Alex."

"Not a big deal? Justin -"

"Can we drop the subject? I shouldn't of brought it up," Justin stated.

I glared at my shoes. Water was slowly gliding across the pavement.

The roads were flooded with water about eight inches high, but it wasn't as bad as other parts of New York. Cars were able to slowly drive through it slowly enough without causing too much damage, but not many cars were even on the roads due to there being no gas for about 100 miles.

I still hadn't gotten used to the whole air being blended in with ashes. I could taste it in my mouth, and it wasn't pleasant. It made the whole world even more depressing. Apparently, Nevada had been totally volcanoized, and 3/4 of Arizona was also. Yosemite had blown up or something like that. A bunch of other states were being melted as we speak.

Suddenly, a new _whoosh_ of water came rushing towards us, and the bus came into view.

I grabbed Justin's arm and squeezed tight in anticipation.

The bus came to a stop across the street from us, and the campers followed out of the door within the next few seconds. There were only a couple of them to get off.

My grip went tighter.

When Max walked off the bus steps, tears formed at the edge of my eyes for some odd reason. I blinked them away and yelled his name.

He trudged through the water over to us with a huge smile on his face.

Justin pulled out of m grip, and I noticed I was holding on so tight, I had left white finger marks. He didn't say anything about it.

I flexed my fingers and gave Max a big hug when he was close enough to us.

"Alex," he started. "You're suffocating me," he choked.

I let go and smiled.

I let Justin hug Max.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt? What happened?" I asked.

Justin and Max both looked at me strangely.

"What?" I snapped. I rolled my eyes again. "Oh, whatever. Let's go! We have a surprise for you!"

Max's eyes lit up. "Really?"

I smiled.

* * *

"How was the food?" I asked. He looked a lot more fuller than he had been the last time we'd seen him.

"It was awesome! I definitely want a pet chicken when all of this is over," Max stated obliviously.

Justin and I traded glances.

"Or a farm; that'd do. Yeah, a farm. I wonder if we could turn the subshop into a farm..." Max trailed off.

We rounded the corner to Waverly Place.

"You're so going to love us forever with what we did for you, Max. We didn't have ice-cream, since, you know, no electricity and we didn't buy it, but -"

I stopped dead in my tracks. There was glass strewn across the ground coming from the subshop.

"What's going on?" Max asked.

Justin and I didn't pay any attention to him.

Glass cracked under my feet as I walked closer to the shop.

"Stay here with Max," Justin ordered. "They might still be in there."

"I'm coming with you," I stated quietly.

He looked into my eyes, "You're staying here."

I opened my mouth to protest, but I figured it was no use. "Be careful."

He tried to smile reassuringly, but it looked like a grimace."Don't worry." He walked into the subshop.

"What if the guy's still in there?" Max asked.

"I don't know," I mumbled.

A minute passed by, but it felt a lot longer. I kept on replaying visions of what could happen in there with Justin. I needed to go up there no matter what he had said.

"Is Justin gonna be okay?" Max asked.

"I'm gonna go find out." I walked across the glass and entered the subshop.

Max yelled. "But Justin said -"

"I don't care what Justin said!" I looked back at him. "Stay here or go get help. Just don't come inside, okay, Maxie?" I tried to sound rational, but my voice was shaking. I turned back around and headed up the stairs.

We were going to surprise Max with decorations and food. The whole living room had been covered with streamers and _Welcome Home_ signs. Justin and I had brought out strawberries he had began to grow outside on the terrace; they were very miniature, but that just made them more fun. We brought out Oreos, some gummy vitamins, and chips. It wasn't much, but it was a feast to compared to what we'd been eating. And even though basically the celebration wasn't that big of a deal, it was one event that didn't induce depression or mass suicide worldwide.

But now, as I entered the living room, everything was destroyed. I mean _everything_. All of the streamers had been ripped up. The T.V. was gone as if someone in the world had electricity. The couch was in an odd position close to the door. The strawberries, Oreos, vitamins, and chips were all thrown across the room in an ugly mess even though it looked like some of it had been taken.

I walked into the kitchen and covered my mouth. Nothing was there. All the cabinets had been ransacked. The fridge has been emptied. Nothing was there. We had no food.

I didn't start to cry. I kind of did a little bit, but I just wiped them away and walked upstairs to find Justin.

He must've heard me walk into his room, because he said tensely, "Well, whoever broke in was stupid enough to just grab the food. He didn't take anything else besides that." He turned around and stated angrily, "I thought I told you to stay outside."

I fidgeted with my hands. "I thought you knew me better than that." I looked up at him and smiled shyly.

"What happened?" Max stood in the doorway of Justin's room.

It seemed kind of obvious to me. "We got robbed."

"So what're we gonna do?" he asked.

I was wondering that also. I turned to Justin. "Do we have to...?" I trailed off.

"There's no point in staying here anymore," he stated.

Max clenched his hands into fists. "What are you saying?"

I sighed. "We have to leave."

He glared at us. "We're _leaving_? What about mom and dad? What happens if they show up and we're not there?" He was asking the same questions I did. Now I knew how illogical they were, but I couldn't blame him for asking.

Justin said, "It's a risk we'll have to take. We don't have _any_ food, so we're bound to... go hungry." _Starve._ "Plus, New York's gonna turn into hell during winter, so it'd be best if we leave."

"Fine," Max started. "You guys can leave, but I'm staying here."

I looked at him with pity. "Max, we're not leaving you. But we're not staying here either."

He turned to me and glared. "Since when are you okay with leaving? You want to leave mom and dad when they come back? That's sick, Alex," he spat at me.

"Max, please don't get angry. I'm not jumping in joy over leaving. I don't _want_ to leave at all. But what's the other option? No, I don't want them to be freaking out or to be worried if they come back, but -"

"If," he stated. "So you think they're dead now?" It wasn't much of a question.

His words stung. "Take that back! Why would you even say that?" I realized what Max had just said was what I kind of told Justin. It was worse, but I knew how I had made Justin feel.

"I'd say it because it's true." He glanced at both me and Justin. "Nice surprise. Thanks." He left.

* * *

**Ooooooooh... Yeah.**

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**Do you any of you like the Breaking Benjamin? Cuz, I do too :)**


	11. It's Not an Asylum, Alex

**Hate me. Curse me to the Wiccans that live across your street in that old house. Sorry; I just had too much to do in school, so I just decided to finish this chapter when I graduated. But **_**then**_** I went on this vacation which was **_**fabulous**_** might I say, and then I started to procrastinate... I'm sorry; I'm trailing. I'M BACK!**

**Be happy; be healthy :) (Cheerios commercial)**

**BTW, it kind of gets a little AU during the end. Oh, and sorry if the beginning a little boring.**

* * *

**June 1**

"So we're supposed to travel across the country because the radio apparently told you that's the safest place in the country right now?" I asked skeptically. I rubbed the back of my neck; it had been aching up these past few weeks.

Justin tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to some unfamiliar beat. "Pretty much."

Max growled from the backseat. "Why can't we just stay with Harper? She literally _asked _you to stay with her and Zeke's family, and you guys turned her down. They're close enough for when mom and dad come back!"

Just to reassure him, I said, "I went over to their house. Nobody was there."

"You could've waited. They would've come back," he protested.

I sighed.

"What? It's true!" Max yelled.

Justin glanced through the rear-view mirror. "It's not going to safe in a couple of months."

Max shook his head. "This whole world's not safe. It's pathetic..." he grumbled.

Justin continued on with his explanation as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Texas is really hot, and it should be safe enough from all of the natural disasters that've been occuring."

I placed my feet ontop of the dash board and closed my eyes.

* * *

_"Something happens, and I'm head over heels." _

I groaned at the old 80's music.

_Music._

The car stopped abruptly.

I bolted straight up in my seat - which was kind of uncomfortable since my feet were still propped up on the dash board. I stared at radio and cursed, "What the hell?"

_"I never find out till I'm head over heels. Something happens, and I'm head over heels. Don't take my heart; don't break my heart; don't - don't throw it away."_

Justin and I stared at each other in shock. I smiled and looked back towards Max.

"There's music, Max!" I screamed joyfully.

His head was turned towards the window. He grumbled, "There was some at camp also. Forgot to tell you guys I guess."

I ignored him and turned back to Justin. "Do we have any CD's?" I asked frantically.

We both began to search in every place we could look. "Why didn't we think of this _sooner_?" I asked rhetorically.

"Found one!" Justin yelled. But as soon as he said it, he groaned. "It's one of Mom's flamenco CD's. I'm definitely not dancing inside of this cramped car," he stated.

I laughed out loud. _Wait_. "Did I just _laugh_ at your attempt of a lame joke?" I shook my head and smiled. "The world ending has really gotten to me."

"It was funny though, right?" he laughed. He put it in despite his comment.

I bit my lip and smiled.

"Since when are you guys getting along?" Max asked from the backseat. The sound of a guitar invaded the space.

I looked at Justin and shrugged. "I don't know. A few days after you left I guess." It was more of a question than an answer.

He rolled his eyes. "Try _weeks_."

"Whatever," I agreed. I grabbed and uncapped my water bottle.

"So, after I left, right?" Max asked scornfully.

I took a swig of the water. My throat made it difficult to swallow, so I choked a little. Probably because it was so warm in here. I shot a look at him. "Can we like _not_ start this, Max? It's really irritating."

"So, _I'm_ irritating?" he shot.

I glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "No, I said what you are starting is irritating. But to think about it, yeah, you kind of are irritating, too."

"You _guys_!" Justin yelled. His grip tightened on the wheel as we started to move again.

**June 5**

"Want me to drive?"

We had been in the car for four days straight so far; only stopping to fill up the tank with our convienent gas stored in the trunk. I don't know how it's possible, but we have at least 14 gallons stored in the trunk. We'd been hoping to find some gas stations still opened despite with the price might be.

Each time I'd asked to drive, he'd turned down the offer.

"No," he stated tensely. He gripped the steering wheel tighter every few minutes, then loosen, then tighten again.

"What's the matter?" I asked curiously. I fanned my face with my hand.

"It's nothing." He swallowed.

I rolled my head to my left shoulder, then to my right. I was pretty sure the aching was from sitting in the seat in the same position. I added, "Justin, I swear you're gonna get that carpet tunnel thing in your hands if you don't stop driving. You should either let me drive, or tell me what's making you so tense."

"It's carpel tunnel for your information." He shot me a look and then added, "Everything's fine though, Alex."

"By the way, where are we in the world so far? Please, please, _please_, don't say we're still in Ohio," I pleaded.

Justin pursed his lips. "According the legible big green signs, we're in Arkansas."

My jaw literally dropped. "That's, like, really close, right?" My voice jumped an octave.

He nodded.

"Why can't I drive?" Max asked from the back, totally oblivious to the change in subject. His voice seemed a little tinier to describe it.

I smiled and looked at Justin. "Yeah, why can't he drive?" It was a desperate plea with me agreeing with Max for his approval, but I wanted something to count at least.

Justin licked his lips. "The roads are slippery. Besides, all the ash makes the air all hazy."

I shrugged. "We can go slow. It's not like we're in a hurry or anything."

Justin gripped the steering wheel tighter again, turning his knuckles white. "Only for, like, 15 minutes, okay?" I could tell it was a really tough thing for him to do. He stopped the car and put it in _park_. "Alex, can you sit in the back? I want to be in passenger's seat just in case."

I could literally hear Max grind his teeth at the remark, but I agreed, and we all traded places.

I relished the feeling when I stretched out my legs across the whole backseat, listening to the calming flamenco.

* * *

For some strange reason, I'd been tired throughout the whole driving session. The next thing I knew, tires were screeching, and I was jerked out my sleeping state. I slammed against the passenger's seat and started to hear yelling.

"Justin, I'm sorry!"

"What did you hit?"

"I don't know! I'm sorry!"

"Are any of you hurt?" He looked back at me when Max shook his head.

I was about to answer yes, but suddenly my foot began to spasm and cramped up. I sucked in a deep breathe and clamped my hands tight around my foot. Tears sprang to my eyes, and I whispered over and over again, "No, no, no, no..."

Max whipped his head around and asked, "What happened? Oh, God, I did this didn't I?"

My heart was racing. My shirt was soaked in sweat.

Justin had a tensed look on his face but answered, "No, I don't think you did this, Max."

Max covered his face with his hands and started chanting again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I turned my head away when Justin asked, "What else hurts, Alex?"

I looked at Justin and noticed his expression was still tensed. My neck is stiff; I can't really swallow without choking; I feel like it's 300 degrees. "Nothing." My voice cracked as I said, "It's just my foot." It was like my foot was trying twist and turn in directions it wasn't supposed to go.

He sighed. "Do you feel feverish? Stiff anywhere, like your stomach or neck? Is your heart pounding?"

I sighed, too. "Yes, I swear it's over 300 degrees; yes, in my neck; yes, and we just got into an accident, of course my heart's pounding, Justin." I tightened the grip on my foot.

I heard another _I'm sorry_ from Max.

Justin turned back around. "Max, let me drive, if it even will. Sit with Alex in case she needs anything."

I rolled my eyes. The pain began to subside in my foot.

Justin and Max got out, but I wasn't offering up the other side of the car, so Max sat in shotgun.

When Justin tried to start it, it groaned but went through with starting.

For awhile, Justin sped through the empty roads as if there weren't any signs limiting going over 80 mph, until we entered this small town. Throughout one of the streets along the highway, a row of stores and other buildings were all lined up. It was strange, but Justin somehow found this big building with a bunch of different entrances.

Once I recognized what it was, I groaned loudly.

Justin slowly pressed on the brake. "What's wrong? What hurts?"

I covered my face with my hands, like Max had done earlier. "Why are we here, Justin?"

He sighed. "I think you have tetanus."

_Tetanus_. It sounded familiar, like I'd heard it before. "What's that?"

He placed his hand on the back of Max's headrest. "It's, like, the contamination of your nervous system. You can get painful muscle contractions, particularly in your jaw and neck muscles."

I placed my hand under my jaw when he said. Unusually, I understood what he said. Then a nervous thought traveled through my brain. "It's not... serious or anything. Right?"

He glanced in another direction for a moment and turned back around. "We should get inside in case it's crowded." There weren't any cars in sight.

He didn't answer my question, but I didn't know if I should ask it again.

We parked in a deserted lot, and we all got out. Justin grabbed below my elbow to help me walk.

"Justin? I think I can walk."

He almost protested, but didn't speak.

As we all walked, I realized how creepy this whole thing was. "It feels like zombies have invaded this whole place." The thought made me shudder even though I was burning up. It reminded me a bit of _Silent Hill_, with the hazy air and deserted environment.

When we walked through the front entrance, the strangest but familiar feeling tingeled my skin and insides. It was a cooling sensation. Goosebumps invaded all over my skin. Justin was the one who named the sensation.

"They have air-conditioning? They have electricity! How is this possible?" He then began to rant about some parts of the country, world even, having electricity.

I ignored him and looked around. It wasn't like what you saw in movies, or maybe it was just because of the moon, but this whole hospital was deserted. No ringing phones, no bawling people waiting for the news, no lullaby signaling the birth of a newborn baby. My zombie theory didn't sound so crazy right now.

I pulled on Justin's shirt. "Hey, what if, like, _nobody's_ here. Not even a doctor or anything."

He rolled his eyes. "There's obviously not going to be electricity if nobody's here, Alex."

But suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something dart off down a hallway. "Justin," I whispered. "I just saw something over there." I pointed.

"Hey!" he called out. He started to follow in that direction. Max followed him.

I pulled on his shirt again. "Justin!" I whispered.

He turned around with an annoyed expression.

"What if it's, like, a (_zombie_) crazy person?" I asked skeptically. I felt really vulnerable right then.

"It's not an asylum, Alex." He paused. "Do you want to stay here then? Max and I'll follow him while you wait here," he offerred, even though he already knew my answer. That reminded me of an episode of Scooby Doo.

"No," I whispered to both Justin and myself.

"Let's go then." he grabbed my hand and we all ran down the hallway following the stranger.

I began to think we were going around in circles as Justin led me around, until he stopped abruptly, and I smacked right into him.

"Sorry," he whispered.

I noticed a door suddenly open in front of us, and two older people came strolling. Not _old_ old, but mid-forties maybe. A man was wearing a white labcoat, and a woman was wearing a white blouse and some beige khakis. The man smiled and spoke, "Welcome to Sea Valley Hospital."

A boy suddenly my age came out also.

The man spoke again. "I'm doctor Greyback, my wife, and my son Mason."

* * *

**I don't know their names! I'm sorry. Was this the worst thing your eyes had read? I'm so, so, so, sorry! Was this, like, so stupid, too? Gosh, I feel so bad for writing this crappy. I'm so sorry. Please, please, **_**please**_** forgive me.**

**Please review.**


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